PM toolkit - Your project management adventure starts now

PMtoolkit

Tools of the Trade

Straight from the workbench of the Project Management Institute, Phoenix Chapter.

Explore. Enrich. Engage.

Welcome to the PMI Phoenix Toolkit. This will be your introductory guide to the field of project management. Since its inception as a profession in 1969, project management has developed into a thriving profession with approaches like Agile, Waterfall, and Hybrid, directing projects in a variety of sectors like IT, healthcare, and construction.

In order to achieve objectives, a project manager acts as the glue for the project, pulling together and organizing resources, requirements, schedules, and budgets. They not only play a crucial role in making decisions for their respective organizations, but they also develop an atmosphere that encourages team members to communicate freely and think creatively. With a combination of hard and soft talents, project managers can adapt to each project’s unique circumstances.

As you review this toolkit, you will hear words that you may not be familiar with - terms like ‘Stakeholder,’ ‘Scope,’ and ‘Constraints,’ keep reading, because we probably answer that question later in the toolkit. However, you shouldn’t be afraid to pause, ask questions and even check with your favorite search engine. Asking questions is part of what makes a great project manager! Keep reading, because we probably answer that question later in the toolkit.

Getting into this field can start with formal training and certifications like PMP, but you can also gain experience through internships or even volunteering. There are professional groups where you can meet people in the field and keep learning; and handy software tools can also make your life easier in this job. So, explore, enrich, and engage in the highly rewarding field of project management.

Success starts with asking probing questions.

What are projects?

What is a project manager?

What is project management and why should we care about it?

The science of project management is the systematic process of managing project work efficiently and effectively to deliver planned results. It is the process in which a project manager uses skills, such as influencing, organizing, strategizing, and negotiating, to tailor the efforts of skilled resources to successfully meet the project’s needs and objectives. Development approaches such as Waterfall, Agile, and Hybrid processes are used to create and evolve the project, product, or service to the desired end result. To learn more about the exciting career field of project management, click here: (PMI, n.d. -b).

Why project management?

In 1969, James Snyder, Eric Jenett, Gordon Davis, E.A. «Ned» Engman, and Susan C. Gallagher recognized the need for the project management profession to collaborate and share knowledge among the world’s project management practitioners. The Project Management Institute (PMI) was founded, and within ten years, the PMP certification debuted. By 1989, PMI members numbered 6,199, and those holding PMP certifications totaled 264. Interested? Learn more about the history of project management here at (PMI, n.d. -a). Today, PMI serves more than five million professionals with members in 217 countries, touts over 680,000 million members and 1.2 million PMPs, and 800k Agile certification holders worldwide.

How important is project management?

We describe project management as a set of interrelated processes enabling the efficient and successful achievement of a unique project goal. Project management processes introduce a disciplined and flexible conceptualization of problem-solving by identifying factors that can negatively or positively exert constraints, risks, and complexity into project activities. Since the introduction of project management as a discipline, other project management approaches and methodologies, such as Agile, Lean, Scrum, and Kanban have contributed to the success of projects across Construction, Health care, Information Technology, Software Development, Energy, Marketing, and other fields. One project management methodology does not work on all projects. Learn about the best project management approach for your industry from Burgan and Burgan (2014) Project management ensures strategic alignment with organizational goals.

What is a Project Manager and What Do They Do?

A project manager is responsible for ensuring the project is completed to stakeholder specifications and achieves the organization’s end goals and objectives. Project managers are situational project, product, or service leaders who motivate team members to work toward a shared goal. They are assigned at the beginning of the project and act as a representative and a decision-maker for the customer of the organization. Learn more about the project manager role from Coursera (2023).

What do Project Managers do, and why do we need them?

Project managers bring leadership skills and direction to project implementation. Project leaders create consistent working relationships among the team and internal and external stakeholders. They aid in creating an environment that encourages open communication and free-flowing ideas. Project managers function as a pivotal point of contact for project information and updates and manage scope, costs, schedules, and risks, all of which increase the project’s efficiency. Warren (2014) lists several reasons why project managers are in strong demand.

Is this a career field for me?

Project managers are in high demand (PMI, 2017), exist in every industry, work all over the world, and help organizations meet the challenges of competing demands. Project managers play a vital role in various industries. Learn about the fields in which project managers work and function (Indeed, 2023). This career field is exciting, challenging, and poised to meet the rapidly growing and changing business environment. Look to Career Insights (2021), for information on opportunities in project management.

Project management skills are transferable, and project managers often take on more than one project at a time, thereby increasing their knowledge, efficiency, and effectiveness of processes. Project managers use hard and soft skills to understand the project landscape in which they operate.

Project management is a lucrative career field. On a national level, according to Glassdoor (2023), entry-level project managers command average salaries of $97,333. (PMI (2017) predicts that project management job availability will increase by 33% in 2027, with top industries hiring project managers over the next decade.

How do I get started?

If you are contemplating entering the field, Nieto-Rodriguez & Khelifi (2021), Reiland (2023), and Haworth (2023) provide insight in answering the question of “Is Project Management the Right Career for You?,” Harper (2023) offers information on getting started, and AIPM (2020) offers a Career Guide for your evaluation. To further your exploration and gain insight from others, Hargrove (2019), PMTips (2017) read stories from project managers and their experiences entering and working in the field.

Enrich

Now that you’ve Explored the profession of Project Management, it’s time to enrich your knowledge by learning some basics about practicing project management. We’ve assembled some key points below, and you can also visit the Project Management Institute’s free KICKOFF course.

Basics: Intro to Project Management

Projects versus Operations

As you now know, a project results in a unique result, or output which is generally a product or service. The project must also have a beginning and an end; there is no such thing as a “never-ending project.” If a project continues on and on, it is either a failed project and should be ended and re-started afresh. Alternatively, the project has morphed into an operational endeavor and should be formally declared as ended and now part of operations. (By the way, a failed project is a normal risk of business that happens and is better to recognize sooner rather than later even if there are sunk costs involved.)

A project is NOT part of everyday activities. For example, if you work in a retail store, stocking a shelf or setting up a display is not considered a project. While it may require some planning, it is a regular part of the job and thus considered part of “operations.” On the flip side, if you work in a retail store and you are going to have the floors replaced, that can be considered a project because replacing the floors isn’t something that occurs frequently during the normal course of operations.

Projects and operations are different. It’s important to understand this because when a project is completed, it is handed off to operations to become “operationalized.” This hand-off should be planned so that management can prepare for it. A project is often (but not always) performed and completed by a team that is together solely for the project. After the project is completed, other teams take over for operations and maintenance thereafter. Note that sometimes, in the course of operations, new projects may occur, but they still have a beginning and an end.

(continued) For example, when we replace the floor of the retail store, we need to ensure that it will be regularly cared for thereafter. Replacing the floor is the project; the ongoing care of the floor (cleaning and repairing) is operational. The floor is replaced by people different from those who take care of it. Projects can occur during the course of operations. For example, the floor could get shampooed or waxed each year -- this is part of the ongoing maintenance and care, but it is a project because different people will likely perform the task and it has a beginning and an end.

For an information technology (IT) project, we can take an example of implementing a new accounting system. The implementation of the accounting system is the project. Care for the system (security updates, training, support, etc.) is performed as part of operations. An example of a project that could occur during the course of the operations would be upgrading the software to a new version. This is part of maintenance and operations, but it will happen only once, and will have a start and an end; therefore, it’s a project that occurs during operations. In this instance, it’s possible that many of the same people who perform operations will also perform the project. Resource management is particularly important when this happens.

Stakeholder

Business Case

Constraints

Terminology

Like many professions, project management introduces new terminology for you to grow your vocabulary. These are terms you should know:

Requirements

Scope

Charter

Sponsor

Customer

Product

Deliverable

Budget

Milestones

Schedule

Procurement/Contract

Risk

Triple Constraints

A “triple constraint,” or an “iron triangle: is a concept that represents three factors (constraints) that are intrinsically tied to one another; if there are issues with one that require a change, then one or both of the others are impacted.

These constraints are:

• ● Cost/Resources

• ● Time/Schedule

• ● Scope/Quality

Here’s how it works:

Let’s say that we have a project to create a phone app and it looks like we’re not going to meet our deadline date for the prototype to be developed. This means that the constraint of “time” is the one we have an issue with. So, we have some choices as to how we can deal with that issue. We could try to keep the existing deadline, which would:

• ●Impact cost: We can assign more resources to meet the deadline date. Resources are usually people who are paid, which means costs would increase. If this occurs, you will need to tap-into project contingency funding (that you had pre-approved from the sponsor) during the creation of the project, or you’ll have to ask your sponsor or customer for more money.

• Impact scope: We can reduce the scope of desired features in the app’s initial release understanding that future releases will be represented by their own individual projects. For example, we could allow only one type of ad, or develop for only one platform. You’ll need to meet with your development team and ask them which component makes the most sense to drop from this project, then take that information to your sponsor or customer for review and approval.

• Impact both cost and scope by altering both of those constraints in a way that keeps the sponsor or customer happy – or at least less annoyed.

Or, we could decide to keep all of the desired features (scope) but change the schedule and extend the deadline another two weeks. This would not impact scope, but it would:

• ●Impact cost: Because you’re going to need your resources for two more weeks than planned; this will cost more money.

• ●Impact schedule: The schedule is now two weeks later.

Think about the projects in your life. Try to identify what the triple constraints are in your personal “projects.”

To go a step further, consider what could go wrong with each of those and what you would do in response. Congratulations, you are now working toward assessing risks! Identifying your constraints can help you to identify the risks to project completion and help you manage those risks by planning for issues that may arise. Of course, there are risks beyond the triple constraints, but constraints are always a great starting point and often reveal most frequent risks.

Engage

There’s still a lot to learn about project management, but we hope your knowledge has been enriched by these basics. To act on all that you’ve learned here and become fully engaged with project management, read on!

Get Started

PMI offers basic project management to all individuals. If you are just testing the waters to see if project management is for you or not, you can look into:

• PMI Citizen Developer™ - a step-by-step course leveraging the low-code/no-code revolution

• Project Management for Beginners - foundational project management knowledge to join a team

There are restrictions on age to start with project management skills. PMI also offers a simple program for youth interested in beginning this journey now through the Project Management Skills For Life program.

Get Experience

Learn by doing. Ask to work on projects within your current job. Volunteer to organize and work on projects with professional organizations, schools, churches and other nonprofits. Gaining practical experience will help you understand project management principles.

Practical steps you can take to continue your journey.

Gain Formal Education

Universities and colleges offer a rich academic education in project management methodologies like the degree programs through Arizona State University or Grand Canyon University. You may also consider taking a project management course or training in project management from academic institutions. Online resources like LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, or professional organizations like PMI also offer formal education. Additional educational resources can be found on PMI

Consider Certification

You may also consider taking the next step to obtain a project management certification like the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® or the Project Management Professional (PMP)®. Certification may open doors for project managers to new opportunities.

Join Project Management Associations

Once you become a member of a professional organization, you’ll gain access to a wealth of expertise and knowledge. Attend events, explore volunteer experiences, and network with project managers both in your field and from other industries. Learn about the benefits of joining PMI Phoenix.

Embrace Continuous Learning

Make a point to attend workshops, webinars, and conferences that can enhance your knowledge and skills in the field. Visit KICKOFF - a free project management course.

Advance Your Software Proficiency

Learn about project management tools and software like Microsoft Project, Trello, Smartsheet, or Asana (JIRA) based on your project needs for planning, scheduling and collaboration.

Sign Up For Volunteer Work

As mentioned above, take the initiative and make a positive impact by joining nonprofit organizations or community projects where you can gain hands-on learning experience. Learn about opportunities to volunteer with PMI Phoenix

Seek Internships

Internships or even entry-level project coordinator or project assistant positions can help you start a career in project management. These roles offer a fantastic introduction and allow you to develop essential soft skills like communication, problem-solving and teamwork.

Seek a Mentor

Get to know experienced project managers who can provide guidance. Ask for advice and learn from those you know. People love to share their own experiences. Be sure to connect with the PMI Phoenix mentorship program

Project Manager

M.B.

Educator, systems thinker

Passionate about project management

Self-motivating

Personality Traits

• Introvert

• Problem solver

• Easy going

• Self-aware

Hobbies

• Drawing

• Reading

• Arts & Crafts, Sewing & Crochet

Education

• BS Finance ASU

• MS Information Technology

University of Phoenix

• DBA Business Administration, Walden University

• Military, US Army Honorable Discharge

• Small business owner since Consultant & Educator

Can you tell us about your path to becoming a project manager?

I was completing projects before I knew of the project manager designation. I was assigned a 3-month project and a small team consisting of a developer and systems analyst. This project opened the door to what would become my career path because I learned that through careful planning and execution, it was possible to complete a project completed within a specific timeframe. I began to appreciate activities that started and ended vs. a continuum of doing the same thing, the same way, every day. I loved knowing that the project would eventually end and that the end would reflect my ability. In this sense, I had numerous opportunities to excel and grow.

How do you continue to grow and develop as a project manager?

I am a lifelong learner. I remain curious by reading, conducting research, asking questions, and pursuing project management areas of interest.

Can you share any significant challenges you faced while you decided to become a project manager or transitioning into a project management role?

I had the formal project manager training, but the title designation did not yet exist within the organization. We functioned and conducted some project manager duties as Systems or Business Analysts. Eventually, job requisitions for project managers became part of the hiring titles, in which those staff members with appropriate training and skills could transition.

What educational background or certifications have you obtained to support your journey into project management?

Obtaining the PMP certification helped support my journey into project management. Studying for the certification deepened my understanding of organizational business strategies, their relationship to project management, and the importance of systems thinking for creativity in solving project-related problems. Completing doctorate studies expanded my knowledge and fueled my love for the profession through system thinking concepts.

Did you have any mentors or role models?

No, no real formal mentors. However, long below project managers were so designated I worked with my dad, a handyman, on home projects and projects for people in our neighborhood. Working alongside my dad and three brothers, we built furniture, erected patio overhangs, and rebuilt vehicle engines. We took on many other projects that fueled my love for learning and getting tasks done effectively and efficiently.

Were there pivotal moments or experiences that solidified your passion for project management and affirmed your career choice?

Connecting my culture and upbringing to my present career, I understood how the pieces shaped me as an individual and professional project manager practitioner.

How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance?

I am an energetic person. I practice meditation and yoga, which help keep me grounded, focused, and positive.

Project Manager

L.W.

System thinker, adaptable, Leader, Analytical thinker

Personality Traits

• Apply order for activities

• Attention to details

• Spontaneous

• Like to do all the things at once

Hobbies

• Cooking and baking

• Eating

• Reading

• Hiking

• Music lessons for piano

Education

• AS Music

• AS Applied Science and Computer Technology

• BS Liberal Studies - Two minors

• Interdisciplinary Writing and Rhetoric

• Business as a second minor

• MS Information Management

Can you tell us about your path to becoming a project manager? Working in IT, taking a career inventory test, teaching, and project management were on the list.

What advice would you give to someone who aspires to become a project manager, based on your own experiences and lessons learned? Make the plan and do it if that is what you want. It may take longer, or you may have to rearrange your life. It is okay to fail - even going into it thinking about going for the experience

How do you continue to grow and develop as a project manager?

I am a lifelong learner. I remain curious by reading, conducting research, asking questions, and pursuing project management areas of interest.

Can you share any significant challenges you faced while you decided to become a project manager or transitioning into a project management role?

I didn’t pass PMP the first time because I had too much going on in life, working and doing my master’s. I was a Senior Data Analyst but had no project management position.

I started to use the techniques in my daily job and guided staff for more System Thinking, where the project management skills came in handy. There were few people to assist me in how to do things, so it was up to me and my teammates.

What educational background or certifications have you obtained to support your journey into project management?

I completed the PMP boot camp to acquire the PMP-PMI certification. Afterward, I earned the CSM Scrum Master certification from Scrum Alliance, Proci CCP, Lean 6 Sigma Yellow Belt designation, and Leadership and Supervisory Certificate.

Did you have any mentors or role models?

I participated in a book club and met a friend with the PMP designation in a Biotech company. I learned about the local chapters, contacted the local chapter, and became a volunteer.

How do you stay motivated and inspired as a project manager, especially during challenging projects or tight deadlines?

Remember, a project is temporary and has an end, and projects are sometimes only challenging because of people, not the project itself. I use stakeholder management skills, and I always get some wins that keep me motivated - I engage my critiques.

What specific skills or qualities do you believe helped you succeed in your journey to becoming a project manager? Cat herding, building networks, persistence, and giving yourself grace even when you make a mistake.

Project Manager

C.L.

System thinker, leader, Tenacious problem solver

Personality Traits

• Empathetic & Understanding

• Leadership

• Interpersonal Skills

• Perfectionist

Hobbies

• Raquetball

• Theater

Education

• Masters of Environmental Planning Degree, Arizona State University

• Bachelor of Architecture Degree, Pratt Institute

• Project Management Professional (PMP)

• LEED AP

• Licensed Architect

Can you tell us about your path to becoming a project manager?

I found project management integral to all life functions to succeed at a goal, and I wanted to formalize and improve my capabilities.

When I was younger, I was employed to perform Census-taking and offered training for Project Management, which raised awareness of the PMP certification.

What educational background or certifications have you obtained to support your journey into project management?

Architecture Degree (BS), Master of Environmental Planning, PMP exam training course, then a PMP exam refresher, then obtained Project Management Professional (PMP), Project Management workshop at Arizona State University’s WP Carey School of Business.

What specific skills or qualities do you believe helped you succeed in your journey to becoming a project manager? Interpersonal skills management and leadership.

Can you share any significant challenges or obstacles you faced while you decided to become a project manager or transitioning into a project management role? How did you overcome them? I’ve found project management integral to all we do to achieve a goal. In my fields of architecture and real estate development, project management is constantly used. I organized and improved systems and processes for the architecture and billing for a fast-paced $300M Luxury 12 car dealership project.

Some particularly complex details involved multiple reviews, approvals, zoning code changes with municipalities and a change in practices (I recommended outsourcing some of the review work, which they did and probably still do to this day because it was extremely helpful to them). One of these entities wasn’t prepared (staffed/trained) to process the plans and approvals. This project had a short timeframe, so I had to meet with the Director of Building Safety, who processed the plans, and the Planning and Zoning director to find ways to resolve the process within the required timeframe for the 12 dealerships, highlighting the importance of stakeholder management and communication.

In reality, the PMBOK and PM course provided correct/consistent industry terminology and practice standards to apply to activities he had already been doing (e.g., risk mitigation).

How do you stay motivated and inspired as a project manager, especially during challenging projects or tight deadlines? Although the stress is sometimes difficult to navigate, achieving your goal through strategic and organized problem-solving, along with negotiations, is invigorating.

Project Manager

T.S.

System thinker, communicator, Creative, strategic organizer, curious

Personality Traits

• Like to organize and categorize

• Creative visual learner

Hobbies

• Toy collector

• Graphic Design

Education

• MBA in Marketing (in progress), University of Wisconsin, Whitewater

• Bachelor of Business Administration, Temple University

• Project Management Professional (PMP)

Can you tell us about your path to becoming a project manager?

What sparked my interest, back in 2014, I was doing project management before I knew what it was and I was interested in knowing how I can do better then through research I learned about projects and project management. I earned my CAPM and joined PMI Phoenix as a volunteer. I was self-sufficient to learn how to get better and joined PMI Phoenix as a board member. I got PMP certification then Scrum master certification and now moving into creative marketing projects. I love to pursue a brand management career and still be a project manager. That’s why I love project management. It is adaptable to different careers and industries. It is a lifestyle.

What educational background or certifications have you obtained to support your journey into project management?

In addition to my PMP, I went ahead and got Scrum Master. I thought that it was important to have that agile expertise in my back pocket. It has only been occasionally helpful - but when I needed it, at least it was there.

What specific skills or qualities do you believe helped you succeed in your journey to becoming a project manager?

Being able to schedule, communicate, and coordinate are incredibly helpful as a project manager. However, to succeed in the journey, I think that other skills can be helpful - such as persistence, because the PMP and many projects require a lot of patience; curiosity, because it’s important to figure out what the right questions are; and teamwork because you won’t get there alone.

What advice would you give to someone who aspires to become a project manager, based on your own experiences and lessons learned?

Your career is self directed when you volunteer you get to choose the projects and experiences that help you along your project management journey.

What are your most used tools, skills, and techniques that are found most valuable?

Something that I am able to find very interesting to learn new skills is through podcasts since they are long run discussions that you are able to get in more depth and you are able to listen and focus while you are commuting and walking.

How did you gain practical experience in project management? Were there any particular projects or experiences that were instrumental in shaping your skills and approach as a project manager?

Early formal project management experience that I received was during my time as a volunteer with PMI Phoenix. During many projects, I was able to apply and expand my skills that I acquired during my volunteer time in many projects with PMI that included helping other volunteers.

One of the great things about working with volunteers from other industries is seeing what works in projects outside of the ones I would typically work on. It was a way of expanding my horizons and helping me to think outside of the box with discovering better best practices that I could apply to the projects I was planning.

Project Manager

S.B.

Persistent, self-driven, project manager

Passionate and likes helping

Personality Traits

• Don’t always think systematically

• Energetic

• Social Hobbies

• Cooking

• Listeing to podcasts

Education

• Masters, MS, Environment Management Sustainability from ASU

• Doctorate, PhD, Design, Environment and the Arts from ASU

What specific skills or qualities do you believe helped you succeed in your journey to becoming a project manager?

Intuitive thinking, thinking about project uniqueness and adding your own spin to it. Think about the elements of uniqueness in everything, just like cooking.

Learning from other people and talking to other project managers can be helpful, even in different industries. Use those resources and bring in the uniqueness.

What advice would you give to someone who aspires to become a project manager, based on your own experiences and lessons learned?

Don’t be scared of the chaos and uncertainties that exist in an unknown task. Take it day by day, be consistent keep at it every day. You have to imagine and visualize what you want to create. Once you give something a shape, a name and define it, it will happen.

Can you share any significant challenges you faced while you decided to become a project manager or transitioning into a project management role? The empowerment of a project manager is half of the journey to succesed in a project.

What are your most used tools, skills, and techniques that are found most valuable?

Aside soft skills, public speaking, note taking, emotional intelligence, empathy these are valuable skills to learn.

Can you describe a project that you managed early in your career and how it influenced your approach to project management?

I find the self driven ideas that turn into projects very fascinating both in my day to day job and during my work as a volunteer with PMI. These are the projects that stem from a need that you identified after observations and talking to other professionals.

For those kinds of projects, I used my research skills to learn about the idea along with all the uncertainties. Next, I started talking to others about the idea and along the way, I worked with wonderful team members that made the project worth managing and when you look back you realize the journey was more important than the destination.

How do you stay motivated and inspired as a project manager, especially during challenging projects or tight deadlines?

I think working with great team members along with creating a collaborative project environment is very important. There is always something new that you can learn from your team members. Above all, open communication and respect is a must in a project environment.

References & Resources

AIPM (2020, June 30). The Project Management Careers Guide. Australian Institute of Project Management Retrieved July 31, 2023, from https://aipm.com.au/guides/project-management-careers-guide/

Burgan, S. C. & Burgan, D. S. (2014). One size does not fit all: Choosing the right project approach. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2014—North America, Phoenix, AZ. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.

Career Insights (2021, August 12). Industries Hiring Project Management Professionals: The Most Exciting Opportunities in a Growing Field. Post University Blog. Retrieved July 31, 2023, from https://post.edu/blog/project-management-industries/

Coursera (2023, June 15). What is a Project Manager? A Career Guide. Coursera. https:// www.coursera.org/articles/what-is-project-manager?trk_ref=search-bar-autorecs

Glassdoor (2023, June 14). Entry Level Project Manager Salaries Glassdoor. Retrieved July 31, 2023, from https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/entry-level-project-manager-salary-SRCH_KO0,27.htm.

Hargrove, B. (2019). Five stories every project manager should read. Association of Project Management. Retrieved July 31, 2023, from https://www.apm.org.uk/blog/five-stories-everyproject-manager-should-have-read/

Harper, J. (2023, April 25). How to become a project manager (Plus Salary). Indeed. Retrieved July 31, 2023, from https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-become-a-project-manager.

Haworth, S. (2023, July 17). How to Become a Project Manager in 8 Easy Steps. The Digital Project Manager. Retrieved July 31, 2023, from https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/personal/new-pm/become-digital-project-manager//.

Indeed (2023, February 2). Nine Common Project Management Industries to Consider. Indeed Editorial Team. Retrieved July 31, 2023, from https://uk.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/project-management-industries.

Nieto-Rodriguez, A. & Khelifi, Y. (2021, December 27). Is Project Management the Right Career for You? Harvard Business Review. Retrieved July 31, 2023, from https://hbr. org/2021/12/is-project-management-the-right-career-for-you.

PMI (2017). Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap 2017-2027

PMI (n.d. -a) History of PMI. Project Management Institute. Retrieved July 31, 2023, from https://www.pmi.org/about/learn-about-pmi

PMI (n.d. -b) What is Project Management? Project Management Institute. Retrieved July 31, 2023, from https://www.pmi.org/about/learn-about-pmi/what-is-project-management.

PMTIPS (2017, April 13). Project Management Success Stories. PMTIPS. Retrieved July 31, 2023, from https://pmtips.net/article/project-management-success-stories

Reiland, M. (2023, February 2). How to Become a Project Manager: A Step-By-Step Guide. Forbes Advisor. Retrieved July 31, 2023, https://www.forbes.com/advisor/education/become-a-project-manager/

Warren, M. (2022, March 14). Ten Reasons Your Project Needs a Project Manager. Chron. Retrieved July 31, 2023, from https://work.chron.com/ten-reasons-project-needs-project-manager-5112.html.

ADDITIONAL ONLINE PMI RESOURCES

• Student Membership - PMI offers full-time students enrolled in undergraduate/graduate courses (and their global equivalents) discounted

• PMIstandards+ - A digital, searchable solution for finding content from PMI’s standards and guides PLUS information about real-world application

• Career Navigator - A free career development platform for project professionals. The platform offers a comprehensive self-assessment

• Project Management Salary Survey - Learn what project managers earn

• Academic Scholarships - PMI invests in our rising leaders.

• Thesis and Doctoral Research Grants - Students doing project management research that advances academic knowledge and practice are eligible.

• PMI Project Management Ready - Entry level certification program (paid)

For excellent templates, tools, tips and techniques to become a more successful Project Manager, the PMI California Inland Empire Chapter has put together their own PM Toolkit. Click through to their page to get access to sample charters, cost benefit analysis, RACI charts, and more.

You can do this.

PMtoolkit is an educational project management toolkit developed and published by PMI Phoenix Chapter. This toolkit may be reproduced for educational purposes.

Authors:

Shahrzad Badvipour, Joan Barnes, Susan Wynn

Contributing Authors: Mary Ryan, Trevor Stasik

Editing & Proofreading: William Hecht, Mary Ryan, Trevor Stasik

Layout & Design: Trevor Stasik

Questions? Contact us: PMtoolkit@pmiphx.org